A broken heart and a broken limb are kindred, as believed by the human brain, but in a society similar to ours, emotional pain is less reacted towards as compared to physical pain. All of us will rush towards the hospital when we feel a nagging pain, but to expect a similar reaction when suffering from acute depression would be foolish. Be it the mental stress caused by a bad grade or the disappointment of getting rejected in an interview, we experience emotional pain more frequently than physical pains, but tend to take them for granted.  

Physical hygiene is taught to young children since the day they enter this world. An average child between the ages of three and eight knows how often he needs to brush his teeth in order to avoid cavities, and all the troubling acts he must avoid in order to save himself from a simple cut. However, the education and guidance he receives regarding emotional pain is nil, resulting in him neglecting the emotional pain. Although like physical pain, emotional pain also possesses a protective function, warning us regarding a disconnection or heartache. 

As time passes by and the child enters teenage, he is more vulnerable to emotional pains in the form of teenage relationship, bad grades and peer pressures - this is when the real test begins. The child is unaware of how to react and a verbal vent out is usually rare and therefore, he is introduced to the idea of self-harm. Physical pain is used as a distraction from emotional pain, offering the sufferer short-lived relief. Self-harm not only damages the physical health in the form of cuts and scars, but also fails to provide the sufferer with a proper solution. Limiting ourselves to just Pakistan, self-harm is an idea that stimulates anger and condemnation throughout the society without making the slightest of efforts to identify its root cause. Fears of similar reactions push these children into a bubble of loneliness where no one speaks a word and matters are worse. 

Physical pain, since the beginning of time, has attracted more sympathy from others, as compared to emotional pain. In a society where double standards prevail, watching a man get hit by a car attracts a large crowd coming to check the severity of the injury, but watching a teenager getting cyber-bullied is a source of amusement only because the pain is not evident. We tend to overestimate the acuteness of physical pain and underestimate whatever is taking place in the mind. Unlike physical pain, emotional pain leaves behind countless reminders that trigger our pain whenever we encounter them regardless of the place and time. 

Unlike physical pain, a single episode of emotional pain is good enough to permanently damage our emotional health and twist our personality accordingly. A broken limb is most likely to heal within a month of bed rest, but a broken ego becomes a part of you for the rest of your life. It not only disturbs your long-term mental health, but pushes you into taking life decisions differently as compared to how you would have, if you had not gone through the emotional pain. Rarely do we take some time out in order to pay attention to common psychological problems such as loneliness and rejection and instead, wait for them to reach a point where they start affecting our daily lives. 

In times to come, hopefully, just like physical pain pushes us towards visiting a doctor and treating ourselves, emotional pain can push us towards necessary treatment, spreading awareness and instilling a sense of emotional hygiene in children from the moment they are born, rather than neglecting it. It is for our own good, after all.